3 Steps to a Fulfilling Poker Career

Are you drowning in make up and can’t seem to get a breath of fresh air?

Are you a dreamer? Someone who wants to be a professional poker player, but believes that it’s too difficult; that the games are too tough?

Then read on.

I will never forget the time my ex-wife told me she was pregnant. It was 15-years ago. She carried this nervous smile. I hugged her. I told her that it was amazing news. I was so scared.

She told me that she wanted to be close to her family. It was important that our child was raised in the midst of love. There was also the need for support. We were only kids ourselves. The thought of bringing life into the world was unbearable.

So now I had two problems on my hands.

1. I needed to learn to be a father, and a more caring husband.

2. I needed to leave the comfort of my current job, and find a new one.

What should have been such a wonderful time, turned out to be one of my most testing. My son was born on 9Feb 2001. The first night he was home he screamed all night. I remember driving for miles because the hum of the car was the only thing that would put him to sleep. I remember the lack of sleep. I remember the feeling of helplessness when he cried in my arms because I didn’t have milk in my breasts.

It was one of the most difficult times of my life.

But it wasn’t over.

I needed to find a new job.

The universe was taking pity on me. An old timer had decided to take early retirement. The position was close to my in-laws home. It was way beyond my pay grade, and skill level. It was my only hope. I applied. I got the job. I became the youngest manager in the UK Freight Industry.

I remember everyone celebrating and giving me the pat on the back. My ex-wife was so grateful that we could move home. Her wish was my command. I just remember thinking, “What am I going to do now?”

I didn’t have a clue.

Fear ripped me apart.

15-years later and so much has changed in my life. I barely give these two tales a thought. They are a part of my DNA. But they are also valuable lessons. They remind me of the things that I am capable of. That I have faced fear before and over time that fear has manifested itself in some wonderful tangible changes in my life.

Everything happens for a reason.

Good comes out of everything if you want it to.

We often forget that our life is like a movie. Another thing we forget is that we write the script. We like to believe that things just happen. We either get lucky, or unlucky, but that’s not the case at all. Everything happens as a result of actions and choices that we make. Nobody can take away our right to choose under any set of circumstances.

Nobody.

If you answered yes to the questions that greeted you when you first decided to dive in and read, then I am here to tell you that there is hope. Poker is not a physical sport. It’s a mental one. There is only one thing that’s stopping you from becoming a professional poker player, getting out of make up, growing that bankroll, or creating confidence in your game.

Mirror, mirror on the wall.

Here are three key steps that will help you pick up that pen and create an ending where you live happily ever after.

1# Hunger

There will be an event in your life that acts as a catalyst. For me, it was having a child. For you, it might be reading this article. You must find this spark for change and turn it into a ravishing hunger. I want to see you dribble from the sides of your mouth.

If you want to become a professional poker player then make that vow. Don’t mess about. A vow is a very important thing. It’s how Gandhi was driven and how he was able to get so many people to follow him. From that vow comes the hunger. Your sub-conscious is suddenly programmed differently. It now starts seeking out ways that you can improve. They will start falling at your feet. Keep your eyes open.

Next you have to channel this hunger. You need to develop focus. Set your eyes on the prize and never let them drift.

2# Action

Hunger will not be satiated without intense, and voluminous action.

Action creates energy and intensity. Attach that to your hunger; remember your vow and watch as you go. Cast your mind back to the times when you have been successful before. How did it happen?

Action.

I applied for the job. I cradled my child. I moved home. I found a mentor. I learned the power of expressing milk so I could feed my child. Inaction is death. It leads to nothing but despair.

The hunger will send you ideas. Turn these into plans. Prioritize. Take calculated risks. Get this work done; piece-by-piece; bit-by-bit.

3# Gratitude

Open your mind. Open your heart. Feel what is happening to you. Learn from it. When the right things start to happen. When things start falling into your lap. You have two ways to think about these things.

1. You are getting lucky.

2. You are creating your own luck.

By choosing a life of gratitude you are exerting the belief that you are creating your own luck. Drop the machismo. Pull the plug and let the testosterone flee.

It doesn’t take anymore effort to think that the universe is giving you what you ask for, than it does to think it’s nothing but a crock of sh*t. Choose to believe. Do you think I was lucky that the old timer retired when he did, or did that happen because I needed it to? I asked the universe to find me a job and it did. Be grateful for the positive things that are happening. Remember that they are happening because of your hunger and action.

This is not variance.

You wrote the happy ending.

Remember?

Now, it’s your turn.

What has happened in your life that was once nothing more than a dream?

Now, how can you take those lessons, and write a fresh ending for you and those you love?

Lee Davy

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Life can be viewed as the sum of the parts or the parts themselves. I believe in the holistic view of life, or the sum. When dealing with individual parts you develop whack-a-mole syndrome; each time you clobber one problem with your hammer another one just pops up.